False coup claims circulate online after Somalia election

Published on 19/05/2022 at 15:01

A video viewed more than 500,000 times on Facebook claims that just one day after Somalia’s presidential election, troops staged a coup and destroyed the newly-elected president’s residence. This is false: there have been no reports of a coup in Somalia, and AFP reporters on the ground confirmed that the claim is baseless. The video, which features footage of soldiers marching, includes scenes from a military parade that took place prior to the election.